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In the 2004 dark comedy Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Jim Carrey tells two of the principal characters – who are siblings – that “Siblings that say they never fight are most definitely hiding something.” The concept of siblings in smartphones is a rather new-ish trend and the most recent to jump on the bandwagon is Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus. OnePlus treaded away from the tried and tested path of launching one phone every six months to launching two phones at the same time. One is the OnePlus 7 Pro – the ‘elder’ sibling – and the other one is OnePlus 7.

While OnePlus 7 Pro has been touted as the flagship killer and boasts of top-of-the-line specifications, the OnePlus 7 has more humble yet some really powerful specs on board. So what happens to these two siblings? Will they end up fighting each other? Yes, they will or else the line from Lemony Snickets will prove to be unequivocally true. We used the OnePlus 7 for a while to see what it has. Will it be burdened under the huge weight it carries of being OnePlus 7 Pro’s younger sibling? Or does it defy expectations and end up slaying the elder sibling? Read our full review to find out the answer to these questions and more:

OnePlus 7 review: Design and display

It was kind of expected that OnePlus 7 will follow in the footsteps of the OnePlus 6T rather than take on OnePlus 7 Pro when it comes to design. The OnePlus 7 looks freakishly similar to the OnePlus 6T, except a few tweaks here and there. The camera module protrudes slightly more and the speaker mesh is wider than that on the OnePlus 6T. The camera module also is home to the LED flash. The OnePlus 7 has an aluminum chassis and is about 3 grams lighter than OnePlus 6T. Unless you look at it really closely, you won’t be able to tell the difference between the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 6T.

It is clear that most of the design budget from OnePlus was devoted to the Pro model this time as it boasts of an all-new design. However, we must point out that the OnePlus 7 is much more easier to ‘handle’ than the OnePlus 7 Pro. It’s more of a ‘one-handed’ phone than its elder sibling. Now some users may be vowed by the new design of OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 7 plays it safe with a tried-and-tested design and it works perfectly. Whoever said playing safe doesn’t work always won’t say the same about the OnePlus 7.

OnePlus 7 comes with a Gorilla Glass 6 at the back but still it’s a glass back which makes it prone to fingerprints. You will have to use a cover – which is a pity – and that would certainly hide the good looks of the OnePlus 7. The OnePlus 7 comes in two colour variants: Mirror Gray and Red. The review unit we had was Red and it looked very attractive and garnered a lot of attention.

It’s not just design where OnePlus 7 shares similar traits with the OnePlus 6T. Even the 6.41-inch full HD+ display is the same in OnePlus 7. There’s an AMOLED panel which is protected with a 2.5D Gorilla Glass 6. OnePlus 7 also comes with a pre-applied screen guard to take care of the random scratches that may come with daily wear and tear.

With the OnePlus 7 display, there are a couple of features that you will find. These include night mode and reading mode which are good additions. OnePlus 7 retains the waterdrop notch on the front and also incorporates the in-display fingerprint sensor. The in-display fingerprint sensor works remarkably better on the OnePlus 7 than the OnePlus 6T. While there seemed to be a gap of fraction of a few seconds in unlocking the 6T, there are no such issues with the OnePlus 7.

OnePlus 7 offers a very good display on which watching content will be a real pleasure. It truly is one of the finest display – especially considering the price – out there in the market. The colour contrast, viewing angles, sharpness of images – the OnePlus 7 gets everything bang on with its display.

OnePlus 7 review: Performance

OnePlus has literally carved a name for itself on the basis of its performance. The premise of OnePlus phones has been superior performance at lower prices. The performance comes from the processor and OnePlus has been sharp in getting the latest one on board every time. This time is no different as OnePlus 7 comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor. It’s a seriously fast phone and OnePlus takes everything on the front foot and knocks off clean shots every time.

This is primarily down Snapdragon 855 being the fastest Android processor around. The 7nm chipset claims to be 45% faster than the 845 processor and it shows. The octa-core CUP has Kyro 485 cores: three running at 2.42 GHz, one at 2.84GHz and another at 1.8Ghz. What all this translates into is a phone that can perform any task you throw at it with utmost ease.

OnePlus 7 comes in two variants: 6GB RAM +128GB storage and 8GB RAM +256GB storage. With the new OnePlus phones, there’s another performance enhancing feature that has been introduced. Called RAM boost, this allows the phone to divide RAM to heavy apps and this is done on the basis of app usage patterns. We tried the RAM boost feature and found that games loaded much faster and there were absolutely no lags.

In addition to this, there’s AI at work which helps in better camera and improved gaming performance. OnePlus 7 runs Android 9 Pie based on its OxygenOS (which is one of the better customizsed OS skins out there).

With the OnePlus 7, gamers too won’t feel neglected as the 8GB RAM is good enough for any heavy-duty game. OnePlus has also given a native screen recorded which gamers will find quite handy as they can record the gameplay.

Like most other brands, OnePlus too seems to be stressing on digital detox and has introduced a Zen mode. In this mode the phone automatically goes on lockdown for 20 minutes and users can just make or take calls.

When it comes to audio performance, OnePlus 7 does a better job than its predecessor. The dual-stereo speaker is really loud and sounds really good while playing games or watching multimedia content.

Take our word on the OnePlus 7’s performance. It’s one of the most powerful phones we have come across in 2019 so far and it will take some effort to beat it. What works more in the favour of OnePlus 7 that it’s the same processor that you’ll find in the OnePlus 7 Pro.

OnePlus 7 review: Camera

Now, here is where there’s a marked difference between the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 7. OnePlus 7 gets on the ‘hottest’ trend in smartphone market and brings a 48MP sensor to its armoury. The dual camera setup at the back as a 48MP lens with Sony IMX586 sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. There’s also a 5MP sensor with depth-of-field effect and one gets OIS and EIS as well. The only difference between the Pro camera and OnePlus 7 is an ultra-wide angle sensor. But hey, that’s the extra premium you pay for the Pro variant.

OnePlus 7’s 48MP camera uses the same trick as other phones in the market for clicking pictures. It uses the now-common pixel binning trick to click 48MP images. However, if you look deeper in the camera app you’ll find that in the Pro mode there is an option to directly click 48MP images. OnePlus 7 has a lot going for those who like to shoot videos as well. There’s 4K recording at 60fps along with 480p for slow-motion clips. The camera app has all the usual features that you expect from a
OnePlus phone.

However, what matters is the quality of the images. While there have been a few murmurs of discontent about the camera quality of the OnePlus 7 Pro, there can’t be too many complaints about the OnePlus 7.

Almost every image – and in every mode – that we clicked had us nodding in approval. The exposure is balanced and colours are vivid. There isn’t any oversaturation – something that we noticed in the OnePlus 7 Pro – and pictures come out bright looking (especially the ones clicked in broad daylight). Night-time photography is again nothing to scoff at in the OnePlus 7 but it’s not as good as daylight. Overall, we were impressed by the camera and the images the OnePlus clicked.

OnePlus 7 review: Battery

A feature that has always managed to impress us and gets extra brownie points is its battery. With the OnePlus 7, the company has retained the same battery as the 6T. It also supports 20W fast charging and comes with Dash charger. We found that the OnePlus 7 easily lasts a day on a single charge with medium to heavy. Unless you plan to play non-stop games on this phone, you will not find yourself reaching to the charger even once a day. Throw in fast charging and it’s a win-win for the OnePlus 7 battery.

OnePlus 7 review: Verdict

OnePlus 7 is a seriously impressive phone that checks almost every box out there. What works the most in its favour is the price that it comes with. At a starting price of Rs 32,999 it will be a tough ask for any phone to go up against this and come out on top. It has the fastest processor, reliable cameras and an excellent battery life. The OnePlus 7 is what we call a truly balanced phone that offers real value.

What we expect is that there would be two questions in the minds of prospective buyers: a) is it a worthy upgrade on the 6T?; b) should they opt for the expensive Pro variant which has the bells and whistles.

If you’re willing to pay a premium of close to Rs 16,000, then of course the OnePlus 7 Pro is a better alternative in terms of cameras and design. If you are a first time OnePlus buyer then there is a difference of less than Rs 5,000 between 6T and OnePlus 7. Is that worth spending? Yes, in our opinion you’ll be getting the best processor and a camera upgrade that is worth it.

Having said that there is more value in the OnePlus 7 than the Pro and here’s where the ‘problem’ between siblings will arrive. We can totally see the OnePlus 7 eating into the market of OnePlus 7 Pro. The quintessential OnePlus buyer is someone who looks for value that she can’t find in other flagship phones. Like it or not, OnePlus 7 Pro has crossed to the ‘other side’ while OnePlus 7 remains rooted close to the sensibilities of a OnePlus buyer. And it’s for this reason the OnePlus 7 is one of the most impressive phones that has been launched in 2019 so far. Go for it and you won’t be disappointed.